Food Check-out week recognized with donation to Baptist Crisis Center

Published 3:12 pm, Thursday, February 23, 2012

The Baptist Crisis Center will have more food supplies to distribute in the coming weeks after receiving a gift Thursday from the Texas Farm Bureau and Super Mercado.

People from each entity met at Super Mercado Thursday to load boxes of cereal, dry milk and canned potatoes that were purchased with a $250 donation from the Texas Farm Bureau and a matching gift from Super Mercado of about $260.

The Baptist Crisis Center has a "reputation for distributing the food well," said Marcus Halfmann, with the Midland County Farm Bureau.

Center director Susan Edwards said the donation will help the agency to meet the changing dynamics of its clients. The economic climate of Midland is booming, but needs still exist, she said.

"The economy has made a real difference," Edwards said. "The needs are different."

The donation has become an annual event for the Texas Farm Bureau and serves as a way for its staff and board to locally recognize Food Check-out Week, said Sutton Page, senior field representative with the Texas Farm Bureau.

"It's an event to raise awareness that farmers produce safe foods," he said.

The week is celebrated nationwide and recognizes both the safety of America's food supply and its abundance that the Farm Bureaus says is available, in large part, because of U.S. farmers, Page said.

Giving food to an organization that helps those in need is just one way to celebrate those things, he said.

Edwards said the cereal donated will go quickly because that always is needed. They typically save dry milk for larger families with children. The donated potatoes also will go in the food boxes given out to individuals and families, she said.

How much is distributed varies each week, but Edwards said they consistently provide supplies for hundreds of people every month.

Edwards said with the economy booming, the No. 1 need among families, single parents and senior citizens is money for rent.

"If you're making $10 to $15 an hour, you can't pay $1,000 a month in rent plus utilities and eat," Edwards said. With gas prices going up, the market is creating a negative "domino affect" for those not making oilfield wages, she said.

The Baptist Crisis Center doesn't provide assistance with rent. However, it provides food, assistance with utilities and help in paying for major prescriptions, Edwards said.

If nonprofits can help a family or individual with everything except rent, all of the person's paycheck can go toward housing costs, she said.

"We try to encourage them to pay the rent first," Edwards said.

Center clients are asked not to apply for food assistance more than once every two months.

Edwards said they will make an exception in emergency situations and also will provide regular help to those living on Social Security. It's people who have the ability to change and improve their situation who the center doesn't want to be regularly providing for, she said.

Mario Ramirez, general manager at Super Mercado, said the store has matched the Farm Bureau gift for the last several years.

Page said Food Check-out Week is celebrated during the third week of February because the Farm Bureau estimates most Americans have earned between Jan. 1 and mid-February what they need to buy food for the entire year.